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Tablo’s Dual 128GB and Quad 1TB DVRs have plenty of storage built-in

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Nuvyyo is adding two new DVR models with built-in storage to its Tablo lineup. While they’re not the first devices from the company to include onboard storage, they feature significantly more space than the 64GB Dual model the company announced in 2017. The Dual 128GB will set you back $170, but it can store approximately 80 hours of HD video. Meanwhile, with the more expensive $240 Quad 1TB, that number increases to 700 hours.

You can add up to 8TB of storage to both DVRs, but doing so is easier on the Dual 128GB. With that model, you can connect any compatible USB drive to the DVR and go from there. With the Quad 1TB, by contrast, you first need to remove the existing drive before connecting an external one or installing a replacement 2.5-inch SATA drive. In either case, 8TB of storage equates to about 166 straight days of HDTV content. 

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Facebook takes down fake accounts linked to Trump advisor Roger Stone

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The accounts spent more than $300,000 in Facebook and Instagram ads and had amassed 260,000 followers on Facebook and 61,500 on Instagram. 

“The people behind this activity used fake accounts … to pose as residents of Florida, post and comment on their own content to make it appear more popular than it is, evade enforcement, and manage Pages,” Gleicher wrote in a statement. “The Page admins and account owners posted about local politics in Florida, Roger Stone and his Pages, websites, books, and media appearances, a Florida land and water resources bill, the hacked materials released by Wikileaks ahead of the US 2016 election, candidates in the 2016 primaries and general election, and the Roger Stone trial.”

Gleicher said Facebook began looking into the accounts as a result of the company’s investigation into the Proud Boys, a far-right group the social network banned in 2018. But much of their Facebook activity took place well before 2018. The accounts in question were “most active between 2015 and 2017,” according to Gleicher, who says the company wasn’t aware of the “full scope” of their activity until recently.

The takedowns come on the same day that Facebook released the results of a two-year civil flights audit, which sharply criticized the company for prioritizing free expression over enforcement of its policies against hate speech. The report also cautioned that Facebook’s unwillingness to act on incendiary posts from politicians could pose a significant risk to the 2020 election.

Misuse of Facebook by the political elite isn’t only a U.S. problem, though. Facebook also revealed Wednesday that it removed a network of accounts in Brazil for engaging in “coordinated inauthentic behavior,” some of which were linked to “employees of the offices of” Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro and his family. 

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SoundCoud Insights show creators their audience data

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SoundCloud now offers Insights for creators, allowing smaller musicians to know who’s listening to their music, what music they’re listening to and where they’re from — data they may not otherwise have. The feature is rolling out today and over the next few weeks on the SoundCloud app, according to the SoundCloud blog.

As a creator, Insights allows you to see your top listener, top city, top country and top 50 tracks. A $144 annual Pro Unlimited subscription gives you access to your top 50 listeners, cities, countries and tracks, plus other audience analytics tools. Previously, audience data was available only in the SoundCloud creator app, Pulse app and web. The Insights feature means audience data is now all available in one main app. So if, for example, you have been using the Pulse app to view your stats, you no longer need to navigate away from the main app to access this data.

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Google starts displaying contextual info in image searches

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If you’ve ever searched for something and seen a panel to the side of the main interface that displays some facts related to your query, then you’ve seen the Knowledge Graph in action. The company first introduced the database back in 2012. Since then, it has expanded to include approximately 500 billion facts related to 5 billion entries.  

Google image search

Google

As you might have guessed, ensuring Search connects an image with the correct facts can be tricky. Google says it’s using a deep learning algorithm to parse and evaluate an image’s visual and text signals. It then combines that with its understanding of the text on a website. The company says that information helps it determine the most likely people, places or things related to a specific picture. 

Currently, this latest extension of the Knowledge Graph is only available on mobile devices in the US. Moreover, not every image you tap on will include related information. That said, Google plans to expand the feature to make it compatible with more languages and pictures over time. 

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Mercedes’ new touchscreen controls eliminate 27 physical buttons

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You won’t need to say “Hey Mercedes” before certain actions, like accepting a call, and the voice assistant will take on new capabilities, like instructing passengers on how to connect a smartphone via Bluetooth. “Hey Mercedes” now works in 27 languages and recognizes up to 20 voice commands.

Mercedes' second-gen MBUX system

Mercedes-Benz

Users can set personal preferences for radio stations and seat position via their Mercedes me profile, and they’ll be able to access those settings or make digital payments from the vehicle with fingerprint, face and voice recognition, as well as QR codes. All of these features will be based around the touchscreen displays.

Sensors will predict when an occupant is about to exit the car, and if the vehicle’s cameras detect another “road user” approaching a blind spot, the ambient lighting will flash red. The MBUX system can also determine if a child seat is correctly attached to the front passenger seat, and if the driver is showing signs of drowsiness. In that case, MBUX will warn the driver, and if a passenger says “I’m tired,” MBUX will activate “energizing comfort control.”

The changes are clearly driven by a larger touchscreen infotainment trend. We’ve seen large displays in Teslas, of course, and in vehicles like Subaru’s 2020 Outback. But we also called the first-generation MBUX the best infotainment system out there. We can expect good things out of the second-generation system, as long as removing so many physical controls doesn’t become too distracting.

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Microsoft’s new Teams features fight video conferencing fatigue

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Despite recent pressure from the White House, schools and businesses across the country are unlikely to resume in-person functions for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But going “online-only” has posed challenges of its own. However, Microsoft Team’s brand new slew of updates and features seek to address some of those problems and make this new era of physical isolation just a little less exhausting.

Microsoft Teams together

Microsoft

Microsoft hopes to help attendees of online meetings feel more connected to everyone else on the call using AI-driven processes. For example, Together Mode is designed to combat Zoom Fatigue by leveraging segmentation technology to set the call participants on a shared background “making it feel like you’re sitting in the same room with everyone else in the meeting or class,” according to a Wednesday press release. Doing so reportedly helps people focus on the nonverbal cues of the other folks on the call. That feature is expected to roll out next month. Conversely, Microsoft is also releasing Dynamic View which gives call moderators more control over how shared content is displayed during a meeting by automatically optimizing the featured content and participants. For example if Bill from Accounting has the latest quarter’s sales numbers the call mod can push his spreadsheet and his video feed to the forefront of the meeting.

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Ninja’s return to streaming on YouTube shows he still has star power

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Tyler “Ninja” Blevins is streaming Fortnite gameplay for the first time after Microsoft announced it’s shutting down his former home, Mixer. However, his YouTube stream doesn’t necessarily mean that one of the biggest names in streaming is setting up shop there permanently. Esports consultant Rod Breslau reported that Ninja is “in negotiations with streaming platforms and no exclusive deal has yet been signed.” Engadget has contacted Ninja’s talent agency Loaded for comment.

Right now, Ninja is effectively putting himself in the shop window. Within 20 minutes of starting his YouTube stream, he drew more than 160,000 concurrent viewers. The figure dropped to 120,000 or so a short time after, but that’s nothing to sniff at. Although he wasn’t able to pull in the level of viewership to Mixer that Microsoft had hoped, it’s clear he still has plenty of star power.



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Peacock will stream Premier League soccer for free on July 15th

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Until July 15th, NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service is only available through Comcast’s X1 or Flex set-top boxes. Next week though, the live and on-demand library of originals, movies and TV will be open to everyone in the US. And to celebrate, NBCUniversal is giving everyone free one-day access to a full slate of Premier League soccer.

On the 15th, you’ll be able to stream all of NBC Sports’ Premier League coverage commercial-free, including pre-match commentary on Premier League Live, four matches, halftime analysis and the Goal Zone highlights show. In total, that’s six hours worth of soccer starting at 12PM ET. The games include Burnley vs. Wolverhampton, Manchester City vs. Bournemouth and Newcastle vs. Tottenham at 1PM ET. The biggest match of the day, Arsenal vs. Liverpool, follows at 3:15PM ET. NBC Sports has already been streaming live games on Peacock since June 20th, but access is limited to the Premium tier that’s $4.99 a month (currently discounted to $30 if you pay for a year upfront). And, again, still limited to Comcast X1 and Flex customers for now, who get Peacock Premium free of charge. There’s also a pricier ad-free option that’s currently $80 a year if you sign up ahead of the full launch.

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12 Sims players will compete for $100,000 on a TBS game show

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Sims publisher EA worked on the series with Turner’s esports arm Eleague and BuzzFeed’s gaming division. The four-part first season of The Sims Spark’d premieres on Friday, July 17th on TBS at 11 PM ET/PT. Episodes will air weekly, and the following Monday, you’ll be able to stream them on the BuzzFeed Multiplayer YouTube channel.

Starting the same day as the show debuts, The Sims 4 players can tackle in-game tasks as part of the Spark’d Challenge Program. The top creators could win themselves an invitation to a future season of The Sims Spark’d.

However The Sims Spark’d pans out, it’s neat to see games beyond those people typically think of as competitive-focused titles effectively becoming esports and getting some TV time. We’ll have to wait and see whether any of the challenges involve the old, morbid trick of placing a Sim in a swimming pool and removing the ladder (probably not).

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Facebook’s Oversight Board says it won’t be ready until ‘late fall’

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Much like how Facebook failed its own audit regarding civil rights and hate speech today, the Board announcement is disappointing for anyone who hoped for stronger content enforcement on the company’s social networks. In 2017, we learned that Facebook was well aware of Russian meddling long before the 2016 election began, but the company did little to stop those efforts. Zuckerberg’s handling of Donald Trump’s tweets around May’s Black Lives Matter protests made it clear he was sticking with a “hands off” approach. Facebook allowed posts that Twitter chose to hide, claiming that they glorified violence.

More recently, Facebook pulled Trump campaign ads because they violated the company’s hate speech policy. That’s a sign the company might finally be willing to push back against notable public figures. The widespread advertiser boycott, #StopHateforProfit (which Engadget’s parent company Verizon also signed), also led Facebook to say it would expand its hate speech policy for ads and work harder to fight against voter suppression. 

Still, that didn’t appease civil rights leaders. After a meeting with Zuckerberg yesterday, Free Press co-CEO Jessica Gonzalez said she and other leaders didn’t hear anything that sounded like genuine action from Facebook. “Instead of committing to a timeline to root out hate and disinformation on Facebook, the company’s leaders delivered the same old talking points to try to placate us without meeting our demands,” she said in a statement. “This isn’t over. We will continue to expand the boycott until Facebook takes our demands seriously.”

Rather than relying on Facebook to police itself, the Oversight Board has the potential to dramatically change how the company handles its content. (Though it won’t be nearly as involved with stopping widespread misinformation campaigns as we hoped.) It’s just a shame it won’t be ready for when Facebook needs oversight the most.

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